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Summer's Big Moments

This summer, I've been lucky enough to have the incredible Taylor McKinnon by my side helping me with everything from headline ideas to photo research. As she finished up her summer internship, I asked...

This summer, I’ve been lucky enough to have the incredible Taylor McKinnon by my side helping me with everything from headline ideas to photo research. As she finished up her summer internship, I asked...

This summer, I’ve been lucky enough to have the incredible Taylor McKinnon by my side helping me with everything from headline ideas to photo research. As she finished up her summer internship, I asked Taylor to do a guest-blog post about this season’s biggest music moments. I think she nailed them. Take a look and see if you agree::

"In the music world, a lot can happen over the course of a few months. With summer festivals popping up all over the globe and new scandals dropping at same rate as albums, it’s been an eventful season, to say the least. Here are our picks for the top ten buzz-worthy music moments of Summer ’08:

M.I.A. "retires" at the age of 30. After canceling her European tour at the start of June citing exhaustion, the Sri-Lankan singer took the stage at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival later that month and announced it would be her final show. She then made herself even clearer by repeating the statement three times throughout the set.

Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher takes a swipe at Jay-Z, calling the decision to have the rapper headline this year’s Glastonbury Festival "wrong." Unsurprisingly, Jay kept his cool until show time, when he took to the stage guitar-in-hand, and opened with a tongue-in-cheek cover of Oasis’ "Wonderwall." Which leads us, yet again, to the same question: Jigga man, is there anything you can’t do? And, um, aren’t you hot in all those layers?

Scarlett Johansson and Zooey Deschanel both try their hand at singing. While critics weren’t feeling Scar-Jo’s debut album of husky Tom Waits covers ("fussy and forgettable" wrote one,) Ms. Deschanel had a little more success. She teamed up with folk singer M. Ward and together they formed the band She & Him, which released its first album, Volume One, in March. Good reviews and a slammin’ summer tour with Lavender Diamond front-woman Becky Stark followed. And then there was that New York Magazine article titled: "Zooey Deschanel Becomes World’s First Competent Singing Actor."

Also yearning to feel a mic in her hand? Heidi Montag, who debuted her new single "Higher," along with a homemade music video shot by none other than her doting boyfriend, Spencer Pratt. Montag belts out emotional lyrics while writhing on the beach in a pink bikini. Pure and unadulterated entertainment at its finest.

Notoriously high-maintenance Kanye West keeps his fans waiting for hours at the Bonnaroo music festival. After multiple delays, crowds were rightfully angry by the time 4:25 am rolled around; according to reports, bottles were thrown onto the empty stage, expletives were spray-painted next to the star’s name on porta-potties and unified angry chants echoed through the night. West later blogged about the controversy, blaming the "squid brains" (among other, less-PG affronts) who organized the event.

After pulling stunts like making a "price-less" album &#xE2;&#xBF;&#xBF; literally &#xE2;&#xBF;&#xBF; British band Radiohead have earned themselves a pretty eccentric reputation. And they’re definitely working on its upkeep: their "House of Cards" video &#xE2;&#xBF;&#xBF; released in July and shot entirely with fractal lasers instead of cameras &#xE2;&#xBF;&#xBF; successfully tripped out fans everywhere.

Why put up with screaming fans, decked-out tour-buses and parties that last ’til the wee hours of the morning when you can rock out from the comfort of your parents’ living room? This summer, the video-game-everyone’s-getting-just-a-little-sick-of came out with its first one-band edition: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. According to Chris Parise, the software’s senior producer, the game gives fans a "feel for what going to an actual Aerosmith concert is really like." Really though?

Nas proves he’s all bark and no bite. Or maybe just makes a good call? After months of speculation over whether or not the New York rapper would really drop an album titled simply as the "N" word &#xE2;&#xBF;&#xBF; part of an alleged attack, he originally announced in 2007, on racial slurs of all natures &#xE2;&#xBF;&#xBF; the Def Jam/Columbia Records disc was released in July, untitled.

Is 90’s pop culture making a comeback&#xE2;&#xBF;&#xBF; already? With indie film The Wackness bringing the east coast/west coast rap worlds back into the cinematic spotlight and noise band Sonic Youth providing the soundtrack for Fall ’08 Marc Jacobs show, it’s clear: the 90’s are looking pretty fresh.

Miley Cyrus performs.FOX presents 'The Teen Choice Awards 2008' at the Universal Amphitheatre at Universal Studios.USA - 03.08.08.This is a PR photo. WENN does not claim any Copyright or License in the attached material. Fees charged by WENN are for WENN's services only, and do not, nor are they intended to, convey to the user any ownership of Copyright or License in the material. By publishing this material, the user expressly agrees to indemnify and to hold WENN harmless from any claims, demands, or causes of action arising out of or connected in any way with user's publication of the material..Supplied by WENN

WENN

Miley Cyrus feuds with, well, just about everyone. After jump-starting her summer with a controversial Vanity Fair photo-shoot, the Disney Channel teen sharpened her claws and got kind of catty on us. First, "I Kissed a Girl" singer Katy Perry joked that she wouldn’t mind planting a smooch on Miley, who was quick to retort that the "revengeful" Perry used to "sing backup" on her tracks. Cyrus then went on to make a YouTube video with friend Mandy Jiroux openly mocking fellow Disney stars Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Come on Miley, what would Hannah Montana have to say about this? --TAYLOR MCKINNON"

Thanks so much, Taylor.

Agree with the list? Disagree? Is there something we missed? Let us know in the comments.